Finding a Lost Pet

 

List of Shelters in Victoria

Owing to the large number of dogs and cats being impounded at The Lost Dogs' Home and other pounds each day, it is strongly recommended that you physically visit the Home or pound if you have lost a pet.

We also recommend that you:

Check with local and surrounding councils
Check in the area where the pet was lost. Phone your local council and ask where animals are taken when collected by local council rangers. Councils either have their own holding pens or they use a major animal shelter as their pound. Ask for the address and the visiting hours. It is recommended that you personally go to the pound or animal shelter to check if your pet is there.

Remember - you know your pet and the staff at the pound or shelter do not.

It is possible that your pet will be taken to one of the animal shelters by a member of the public. For this reason you should physically visit the shelters and pounds

Conduct a neighbourhood search
Cover a reasonable area around where the pet was lost and conduct a thorough search. This should include door knocking, a letter box drop and the posting of fliers in prominent places. Fliers should be posted in shop windows, on trees, power poles etc and should contain the following:

• A photograph of your pet
• The date it went missing
• The area it went missing in
• A detailed description stating age, name, breed, colour, sex and any distinguishing characteristics
• Your name and phone number.

A letterbox drop is particularly useful for finding lost cats.

Other suggested methods of inquiry
Vet clinics Check the locality guide in the yellow pages and phone all local vets to check if your pet has been taken there
Newspapers Advertise in, and check in, all local and major newspapers

• Note People who find lost pets may not hand them in to local councils or animal shelters immediately. They may hand them in a few weeks or even a few months later. Therefore you should continue to visit pounds and animal shelters on a weekly basis for at least three months.

It should also be noted that:

Collars and Tags can come off or may be removed deliberately. You should personally visit your pound as many animals are impounded with their ID missing. Microchipping and tattooing are normally reliable and permanent forms of identification for your animal.

The Lost Dogs’ Home offers microchipping and an identification number can also be tattooed in your pet's ear. A free pet identification service is available through The National Pet Register at www.petregister.com.au.

Most council pounds and animal shelters also have microchip scanning equipment. Please check with your local council as to whether this applies in your area. You should ensure that your contact details are always kept up to date.

However Microchips can occasionally move around in the animal's body and might not always be picked up by the scanner. If your pet is microchipped you should get your vet to regularly check to see that the chip can be scanned.

Some breeders and animal shelters will tattoo animals with a code number when they sell them. Staff at pounds and animal shelters will make every effort to check the ears of animal for tattoos.

• Please note that a Φ symbol in the ear indicates that the animal has been de-sexed, and should not be mistaken for a unique form of identification.

But tattoos do fade over time and are sometimes difficult to read

Therefore we strongly urge you to visit animal shelters in person
whenever a pet is missing.